Islam through the Lens of Young Syrian Women: between Unity and Diversity

On February 28th, 12pm, students in Dr. Pamela Chrabieh’s “Religions of the World” course at the American University in Dubai had the opportunity to watch the documentary “Turoq” and meet its directors, Sarah Hassan and Leen Al Faysal. Sarah and Leen are former students of Dr. Chrabieh. Sarah is journalist and producer with CNN International […]

Addiction to Words

It falls on our shoulders to start writing and speaking truths that we have come to know and understand about our region. Even though we live miles apart, our hearts still beat the same song and our longing for peace is always present. Words can divide. They build walls of judgment and misconceptions. They imprison […]

It's Always an Exception When It Comes to Women's Rights, Isn't It?

مش وقتا ‘Mich Wa2ta’ (Lebanese saying for ‘This is not the time to…’) is a national slogan in Lebanon used on several occasions by people of different social-economic, political and religious backgrounds. Quite understandable in a country torn by cycles of physical and psychological wars, corruption, a dysfunctional system of diversity management, the reign of […]

Celebrating Women in our Families – International Women's Day (American University in Dubai)

Writing history – and defining our identity, individually and collectively – is linked to memory and memorialization, which never seem to be complete. Someone is always forgotten. Pieces of the puzzle are always missing. I tend to agree with Napoleon or whoever said “History is but a fable agreed upon”. In the history – or […]

Our history is not drawn linearly, it is a braid of stories!

I started to be interested in the war and peace issues in Lebanon when I left my home country to pursue my studies at the University of Montreal (QC, Canada). While living abroad, I learned that once the war grabs hold of you, it never loses its grip; it shapes one’s emotions, thoughts, attitudes and […]

Une demeure à construire, un chemin en devenir

A ce jour, le ‘Printemps Arabe’ fait place à un rude hiver. En effet, au-delà des résultats des élections en Tunisie, l’opinion mondiale découvre une Libye des révolutionnaires disloquée, la révolte syrienne se transformer en cauchemar, une Égypte en proie au régime militaire et à la chasse aux sorcières islamistes, une Palestine vivant dans l’apartheid, […]